Summer camping is a great activity to embark on when you are on holiday, or you simply want to take the kids out for a weekend camping trip.
However summer is different to winter and all the other seasons.
It is only necessary to follow these summer tent camping tips to help you and your family come out and back home in a safe manner with no injuries or long term illnesses.
What Is Heat Stroke?
Heatstroke is when the body temperature reaches 104 Fahrenheit or higher and won’t come down.
Symptoms include – skin that stays hot (however there will be no sweating), high blood pressure, vomiting, nausea, rapid breathing, flushed skin, headaches, racing heart or muscle cramps.
What To Do? Put them under shade and call 911 immediately. While you wait for paramedics you can put a cold towel on their neck head or armpit, this is to help with the heat, be sure to remove all thick clothing that can be potentially making it worse.
Pitch Your Tent Under Shade
Your tent can soon become a sauna when in the summer.
Remember to pitch your tent under some shade to avoid this problem, while following the rule that you should avoid dead trees, valleys or ditches.
A rainstorm can happen in ALL 4 seasons, you can still wake up in a flash flood even in the summer time.
THIS Tent Can Give You A Full View Of The Night Sky
Wear Light Clothing
For the simple fact that thick and dark clothing attracts the sun more, making you more prone to heatstroke, stress, and an all-round bad experience/trip.
Hike At Cooler Hours
Heatstroke, dehydration and all other illnesses occur when the suns UV rays are at its strongest, which is from midday to the afternoon (often the heat will get unbearable at these times).
You can counteract this by hiking in the cooler hours. I usually go exploring in the morning until 11:00 to 11:30. This is just my personal choice so I don’t have to worry about getting back before night time.
But hiking in the evening as it gets cooler will work perfectly as well, you also get the bonus of watching the sun set over the horizon as you stand there with your girl getting some valuable bonding time in 🙂
Eat Cold Food
There’s enough of the sun trying to heat you up as it is, why help it by putting hot meals in your belly? I don’t. Instead pack your cooler with Popsicle’s, fresh fruits, pasta salads, etc.
It is completely up to you though, personally I like to eat cold meals throughout the day and for my final meal of the day it will be a nice hot one, as the temperature has cooled down a lot by this time.
STAY HYDRATED
Last but not least, and mostly overlooked by family campers who don’t go out camping that much, which is why I can not stress this enough – drink plenty of water.
Drinking water doesn’t mean having 1 bottle of water a day and saying you are completely hydrated.
You will sweat more in the summer, you are on the move a lot more (if you choose to hike). Try to drink at least 5-6 bottles of water before the days finished.
Still don’t know if you are getting enough water? The color of your urine is a perfect indicator. Light or cleared color means hydrated, while a golden or yellow color means dehydrated.
My Final Thoughts
Camping is suppose to be a fun task, and pursued my thousands of families around the globe, especially when the summer time hits.
This is all the more reason to learn how to be safe in the summer, heatstroke is not something to take lightly, and neither is you and your families safety.
If I want you to take anything from the list above and use religiously on your next trip, it will be to hike at cooler hours, while also drinking plenty of water throughout the entire day.
Do that, teach the kids to drink more water as well (get rid of the sugar-filled soda), we need to start changing the world – and it all begins with the little ones!
Have fun and don’t forget to stay safe 😀
If you enjoyed these tips, please leave a comment below.
Actually, I’d prefer you take your camping safety knowledge to the next level, check out this article for more tips.
Great article and very helpful. Living here in Southern California in the desert of Palm Springs it can get pretty hot. There are some great tips that will help me a lot the next time I go camping. Big bushy trees in the desert are hard to find. Any tips on shading your tent from the sun without trees?
Thanks a bunch.
You should definitely use at least some of these tips. As the summertime is a time of fun and enjoyment, you do not want to turn it into a disaster all because you thought nothing will happen to you or your family.
In regards to your other question – you could use a tarp over your tent, like a really thick one. If you’re tent is large enough, you could use a tent cot. The hot air will flow under and over you, helping you stay cool.
Although, even in temps at 115 degrees or higher, shade from a tree isn’t really going to do anything either. Just try and keep the air flow into your tent as much as possible, open all the windows and doors – and if you can – get a room-sized air conditioner that’s powered by a small generator.
Good luck.
Hi Brandon, this is a great niche pick. Many people like the concept of camping, but unfortunately most don’t necessarily know what to do when they go camping. Sharing your knowledge and tips on camping will help a lot of people. Also you have lots of products to do reviews on, high five. Keep up the great work. Best wishes for your success.
Thank you for the kind words. I enjoy sharing my knowledge on tent camping, so everyone else can also experience the great outdoors while staying safe and having as much fun as possible.
Kind regards,
Brandon
I always forgot the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Heat stroke is the more dangerous version, right? And the only difference is that you have a fever with heat stroke? Help me remember, thanks!
Yes Sarah, heatstroke is the more serious illness which can actually cause damage to your internal organs and brain. In some cases, it will kill you. There’s many differences and heatstroke actually has a lot more symptoms than the heat exhaustion.
Hope this helps you!
-Brandon
Thank you for the tips! Yeah, I now want to go summer camping the safe way! I totally agree what you mean by ‘we need to start changing the world – and it all begins with the little ones!’, here we must start! And teaching them when they are thirsty that drinking water is really the best solution.
Thank you for the tips, I enjoyed it and I can now take these tips with me on the next summer camp!
I’m glad you got my message Angelic. It is the best solution, they need to learn that sodas and sugar-filled beverages isn’t always the best choice.
I’m happy that you found this post helpful.
-Brandon